What is the future of R&D in Construction?

Can we even define what it is and where it is happening? Major issues around economic performance and productivity, housing, climate change, population growth and scarcity of resources are throwing up challenges and opportunities both at home and abroad. Construction is one of the largest economic sectors in the UK, but it is fragmented, doesn’t have a coherent model of R&D, finds it difficult to innovate and at best follows a step-by-step model. Industry and academia are disconnected; design and construction often have different agendas, Government (even before BREXIT) doesn’t pay significant attention to the sector and the media considers it un-sexy. But the potential for innovation in the sector is huge and the impact of innovations in design tools, materials, ‘smart’ buildings, digital collaboration, and offsite manufacturing could be immense.

Is now the time to come up with a new model for R&D (with the emphasis on the “D”) in construction?

Chair:
Nico Macdonald - Chief Executive, R&D Society

Speakers:
Elspeth Finch – CEO & Founder, Indigo&; Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Innovators’ Network and formerly Director of Innovation, ATKINS
Paddy Conaghan, Edge; Consultant at Hoare Lea; Vice President CIBSE
Annabel Filer, Creative Director and Founder of SCIN Gallery
Mike Moseley, Knowledge Transfer Manager (Construction), KTN

Venue: Hoare Lea offices, Granary Square, 12-13 Stable St, London N1C 4AB

A joint R&D Society / the Edge debate